Visitors are flocking to Cardwell in Tropical North Queensland to swim in a spectacular natural spa pool after a collection of photographs on the Explore Tropical North Queensland Facebook page went viral.

Tourism Tropical North Queensland (TTNQ) Chief Executive Officer Alex de Waal said TTNQ shared Emily Brazier’s photograph of the Cardwell Spa Pool on Forest Drive Creek Drive, 180km south of Cairns, after she used #exploreTNQ on her Instagram post.

“TTNQ’s Instagram post was a hit with our followers so we contacted Emily to create a Facebook album of the photos she and her boyfriend Luke Southgate had taken on their adventure,” he said.

“Within hours the Facebook album post had reached more than 6000 people and been commented on by over 800 people and it has continued to soar from there.

“Since that post on July 5 it has been seen by more than 130,000 people, shared 7300 times, commented on by 6670 people and liked by over 11,000 people with no budget boosting it.

“Many of the comments were urging friends to add Cardwell to their North Queensland itinerary or to plan a trip to Tropical North Queensland just to see the Cardwell Spa Pool.

“This word of mouth recommendation is working with the Cardwell Visitor Information Centre noticing a significant increase in visitors and many more inquires for directions to the spa pool.

“Cardwell has many great attractions like the historical Kirrama Range Road through World Heritage rainforest to Blencoe Falls which visitors will now discover thanks to a popular social media image.

“TTNQ uses our social channels to motivate people to share their adventures via the hashtag #exploreTNQ so we can amplify their positive messaging to influence new travellers to come to Tropical North Queensland.

“It is really rewarding to see this strategy working to disperse visitors throughout the region where they can uncover memorable experiences they would otherwise not have known about.”